Professional Learning

Next Thursday evening, I will get into the car with my daughter and drive to southern Minnesota for her two year tumor recurrence appointment.  A wonderful orthopedic doctor found the tumor on a MRI, and quickly referred us to a colleague that specializes in bone tumors and is one of the best pediatric orthopedic oncologists in America.  These two doctors are part of a professional learning community.  They know each other's skills and expertise; and for the benefit of their patients work together and collaborate.  Needless to say, we are grateful for the amazing care taken and the successful removal of the bone tumor in my daughter's arm.  Is it worth the drive - absolutely!

How far do you have to drive to get an expert opinion for the treatment and benefit of you students?  Not as far as I will be driving next week!  You have experts just minutes away - your colleagues!  When we learn from our peers and work together we are taking advantage of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).

A Collaborative Culture With a Focus on Learning for All

A PLC is composed of collaborative teams whose members work together to achieve common goals linked to the purpose of learning for all.  It is difficult to overstate the importance of collaborative teams in the improvement of student learning.  In many schools, staff members are willing to collaborate on a variety of topics as long as the focus of the conversation stops at their classroom door.  In a PLC, collaboration represents a systematic process in which teachers work together interdependently in order to impact their classroom practice in ways that will lead to better results for their students, for their team, and for their school.  Therefore their collaboration centers around certain critical questions:

1. What knowledge, skills, and disposition must each student acquire as a result of this course, grade level, and/or unit of instruction?
2. What evidence will we gather to monitor student learning on a timely basis?
3. How will we provide students with additional time and support in a timely, directive, and systematic way when they experience difficulty in their learning?
4.  How will we enrich the learning of students who are already proficient?

To learn more about PLCs visit All Things PLC at http://www.allthingsplc.info/